Boehner braced for pope's message — <p>For John Boehner, who attended Mass nearly every morning while growing up with 11 siblings in southwest Ohio, the chance to meet privately with Pope Francis before the Roman Catholic leader addresses Congress on Thursday fulfills a long-cherished dream.</p><p …

Trump momentum shows signs of stalling — <p>The summer of Trump is over, and rival campaigns are latching onto glimmers of hope that autumn will be the season of the billionaire businessman's decline.</p><p>After faltering in last week's debate, Donald Trump showed signs that the campaign grind has taken its toll.

Stampede kills more than 450 at Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca — More than 300 dead after stampede at Hajj pilgrimage — (CNN)A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season — the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca — has killed more than 450 people and injured 719 others in Saudi Arabia.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's vile cheap shot — Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More — Has there ever been as hamhanded a Democratic National Chairman as Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Her latest stunt is to demand that Marco Rubio cancel a fundraiser at the home of Harlan Crow …

Government Shutdown as Self-Promotion — Planned Parenthood ought to be defunded, but trying to do it this way invites disaster. — For the right reasons, congressional Republicans want to end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the country's largest abortion provider.

Epic Media Fail of the Year — John and I, as the Christian half of the Judeo-Christian ethos of Power Line, wish our Jewish friends and readers heartfelt best wishes on their observance of Yom Kippur. — So, too, did WGN TV in Chicago, except that in the most epic media fail of all time …

Controversial South Park episode shows Donald Trump being raped and murdered: Show attacks tycoon's run for President, his immigration policies and then kills him off in shocking final scene — But when Canada beats him to it, he travels into the country before carrying out his sick rape threat on Trump himself

Biden: Abortion ‘always wrong’ in Catholic doctrine — Vice President Biden in an interview with a Jesuit publication says that he accepts Catholic doctrine that abortion is “always wrong.” — Biden, who is publicly struggling with whether to run for the White House, is pro-abortion rights …